Can Ramblers Scotland go it alone?
I left the meeting at the Ramblers Scotland office in Milnathort today with a very heavy heart. The office will shortly close and the bulk of the staff, the most effective part of the Ramblers organisation in the past 20 years, is now scattered to the winds. The only good news to come out of the meeting we had with Ramblers London-office officials Tom Franklin, Rodney Whittaker and Campaigns Director Keith Roberts was that Dave Morris is, for the moment, still there.
It was a very angry meeting. Dennis Canavan, Ramblers Scotland convenor, was furious that he hadn’t been consulted at all and that there had been no response to a very lengthy submission he had sent to Ramblers GB chairman Rodney Whitaker. Likewise, Ramblers Scotland President Dick Balharry had emailed the chairman, chief exec Tom Franklin and the Ramblers treasurer and hadn’t had a reply from any of them. Dick, quite correctly, described their attitude as ‘arrogant.’
It was also obvious to me that the three Ramblers officials hadn’t the slightest idea of what devolution was all about. Rodney Whittaker made the anaIogy of a large commercial company setting up regional offices. When times got tough it was the regional offices that were closed. I suggested that was a bad analogy, and Scottish members see the Milnathort office as their ‘national’ office. Ramblers GB have their London office close to the centre of politics. Likewise, it is essential that Ramblers Scotland have their office close to the Scottish centre of political power, not Westminster but Edinburgh. Scotland is a nation, a different country, with different laws, customs and systems. I think, on reflection, I was making the argument for an indepedent Scottish Ramblers, and that’s how it will shape up I suspect.
The guys we spoke to today live in a metropolitan bubble, don’t seem to want to understand the needs of those of us who live in Scotland and those who travel to Scotland to climb the hills. The new-Labour, PC-correct Ramblers appear to be more concerned about inner-city walking groups and walking for health projects, because these are part funded by Government. In essence, the Ramblers are now doing the work of the Government Health departments. That’s not why I joined Ramblers and that’s not why I have long supported the work of Dave Morris and his team, the best assets the Ramblers have had for years.
I now have to reflect on my own membership and if, and how, I should best help campaign to create an independent Ramblers Scotland, or some such beast. I’m sure many of you will support such a project and the only way the London-based board will begin to understand the feeling in Scotland is when resignations flood in and support is given to the Pheonix that rises from the ashes of this mis-managed affair. I’ll keep you posted…
July 8th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Having followed this whole saga I sympathise with the position these staff find themselves in.
Cameron is clearly correct - devolution means that to influence Scottish politicians a credible base in Scotland (preferably Edinburgh) is essential.
However we are a small nation of about 5.1m people. According to Government estimates about 5% take part in hill walking, mountaineering or ‘rambling’.
There are a large number of organisations trying to protect Scotland’s countryside and keep it accessible for recreational users. Do we really need another one?
I know Cameron opposes any move towards rationalisation. I suggest as a first step co-location and a shared service model is considered if Ramblers Scotland chooses to ‘go it alone’ and break away from London. That way fixed costs can be kept down and more money spent on what the organisation is actually established to do.
So how about investigating sharing facilities with MCofS or JMT? Could be a step in the right direction…
July 9th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Well said Cameron. But I think you’re moving towards the same natural conclusion?
http://walkaboutuk.blogspot.com/2009/07/scottish-ramblers-one-idea-can-change.html
July 11th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Hi Cameron, I am saddened by this whole debacle and personally I wonder if the RA has lost touch with its roots. Dare I say it, possibly has become soft and even, in some respects, genteel. So much has changed, from I first started many years back: as you say, so much political correctness now. If there is a breakaway Scottish RA then my membership will be straight in the post.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I only rejoined earlier this year. I have written to the RA giving my concerns and as yet no response whatsoever.
It is unlikely that I will re-join if this is the way they treat members and their concerns.
I wonder how much the book I was sent giving a subjective 50 best walks in the UK. Most walkers walk in a confined area. I live in West wales and am unlikely to travel to Scotland on a regular basis. There are hundreds of guide books out there. Surely the cost of that publication could have best been spent on lobbying those councils - like mine who are not keen to signpost and maintain rights of way.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Aye Bob,
everyone I know who has written to CEO Tom Franklin about this mess is in the same position - he hasn’t responded to anyone, and that includes Ramblers Scotland Convenor Dennis Canavan and President Dick Balharry. It is this arrogant attitude that is really driving people from The Ramblers. The current situation is Scotland is that we are now looking to ‘break away’ and form an independent Ramblers Scotland. I believe Welsh members are tring to call an EGM and put forward a motion of no confidence in the CEO.
July 25th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I think this situation is a reflection of some general problems in the UK’s voluntary sector (which I work in).
Firstly, under the guise of ‘professionalising’ the voluntary sector, we now have organisations whose primary aim is to raise more money, even if that means focussing on donor-friendly issues at the expense of more important issues. In other words, these organisations are losing their soul.
Secondly, the New Labour government has been pumping hundreds of millions into the voluntary sector (often through qangos) and the sector has consequently lost its independence (as Cameron mentions). This situation may be about to reverse abruptly, when government spending cuts are introduced in the coming years.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Hello
Although I am not Scottish I am outraged with the lack of consultation with the members. I too wrote to Tom Franklin in July and am still awaiting a reply. We had a wonderful recent holiday to Scotland and were particulalry impressed with walks around Moffat. I am considering whether to renew my membership because of the many pointless campaigns and lack of consideration for the grass roots volunteers caryying out CO’s demands.